Cradle locking arrangement for coin sorter

ABSTRACT

In a coin shorter having a cradle adapted to be rocked by a coin of predetermined size, there is provided a locking member for locking the cradle against full rocking movement by a coin of smaller size, said locking member being pivotally mounted intermediate its ends and having a shoulder biassed into the path of a pin on the cradle but movable out of said path in response to engagement of a screw by a coin of acceptable size in the cradle, the screw being finely adjustable in an arm of the locking member to enable fine selection of the minimum size of coin required to fully rock the cradle. Preferably, another screw is adjustably mounted in the sorter to engage said arm and limit displacement thereof when a coin or slug of greater than acceptable size is received in the sorter.

1 United States atent [72] Inventor Wilson M.Stewart Ottawa, Ontario, Canada 211 AppLNo. 851,932 [22] Filed Aug.2l,1969 [45] Patented Dec.7, 1971 [73] Assignee Vendall Machines Limited Ottawa, Ontario, Canada [54] CRADLE LOCKING ARRANGEMENT FOR COIN Primary Examiner-Samuel F. Coleman Attorney-Smart and Biggar ABSTRACT: In a coin shorter having a cradle adapted to be rocked by a coin of predetermined size, there is provided a locking member for locking the cradle against full rocking movement by a coin of smaller size, said locking member being pivotally mounted intermediate its ends and having a shoulder biassed into the path ofa pin on the cradle but movable out of said path in response to engagement ofa screw by a coin of acceptable size in the cradle, the screw being finely adjustable in an arm of the locking member to enable fine selection ofthe minimum size of coin required to fully rock the cradle. Preferably, another screw is adjustably mounted in the sorter to engage said arm and limit displacement thereof when a coin or slug of greater than acceptable size is received in the sorter.

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,569,603 10/1951 Gottfried 194/103 X PATENTED nee Han 3.625329 INVENTOR WILSON M. STEWART ATTOR YS CRADLE LOCKING ARRANGEMENT FOR COIN SORTER BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to coin sorters of the type used in vending machines for sorting coins into different denominations and rejecting slugs.

In known sorters of this type, cradles are provided to receive coins inserted into the machine, such cradles having two anus and being adapted to be rocked from a normal position by a coin of predetermined size seated on said arms, coins of smaller size normally being allowed to fall between the arms without rocking cradle. It is possible, however, to rock such a cradle by means of a slug of smaller diameter than said coin of predetermined size but not small enough to pass between the arms. It is an object of the present invention, therefore, to provide finely adjustable means for locking the cradle against full rocking movement by a coin or slug of less than the predetermined acceptable size.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF TI-IE INVENTION Thus, the invention provides locking means mounted in the sorter adjacent the cradle, and biassed toward a normal locking position in which a part of the cradle engages a first part of said locking means and is held thereby against further movement when a coin or slug of smaller than acceptable size starts to rock the cradle, said locking means having a second part adapted to be engaged and displaced by a coin of acceptable size as the latter rocks the cradle, displacement of said second part efiecting displacement of said first part also, whereby said cradle part will not engage said first part and full rocking of the cradle is permitted, the relative position of said first and second parts of the locking means being finely adjustable to enable fine selection of the minimum size of coin required to fully rock the cradle.

Preferably, the sorter includes a stop member mounted in the coin sorter adjacent said second part of the locking means and adapted to limit displacement of said second part, said stop member being finely adjustable to enable fine selection of the maximum size of coin capable of fully rocking the cradle, a coin or slug of greater size being locked between an arm of the cradle and said second part at the limit of its displacement and prevented from following the acceptable coin path In a presently preferred embodiment the cradle is pivotally mounted on the outer face of one of a pair of spaced plates between which coins fall, the arms of the cradle extending through slot means in said one plate to bridge the space between the plates, and said locking means comprises a member pivotally mounted on the outer face of said one plate and having a lower portion below the pivot and an upper portion above the pivot, said lower portion having a shoulder constituting said first part of the locking means, said part of the cradle being in the form of an outwardly extending pin, said upper portion having an arm extending inwardly through a slot in said one plate to bridge the space between the plates and a screw extending laterally through a tapped bore in said arm, said screw constituting said second part of the locking means.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS A particular embodiment of the invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIG. I is a fragmentary front elevational view of a coin sorter showing a cradle and locking means according to the invention in their normal position of rest; and

FIG. 2 is a similar view showing the action of an acceptable coin on the cradle and locking means.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION As shown, the coin sorter has a backplate l and a front plate 2 between which coins such as the coin 3 fall from an entry chute 4. A cradle 5 is pivotally mounted on the front plate 2 by a pivot 6 and has an enlarged portion 7 whereby it is biassed in a counterclockwise direction into the position shown in FIG. 1. The cradle has two arms 8 and 9 which extend inwardly through slots 10 and 11 in the plate 2 to bridge the space between the plates, the arm 9 engaging the upper end of slot 1 l in the position shown in FIG. 1. The biassing of the cradle is such that it is overcome by the weight of an acceptable coin 3, which will rock it until the coin rolls out of the cradle and on to an inclined runway 12, which is common in coin sorters in use today.

A locking member 13 is pivotally mounted on plate 2 by a pivot 14 and has a forward projection 15 at its lower end so that it is biassed toward the position shown in FIG. I in which it engages a forwardly projecting pin 16 on the cradle 5. The pin 16 engages in a recess in the member 13, which recess terminates at its lower end in a shoulder 17. The shoulder 17 serves to limit movement of the pin 16 and hence rocking of the cradle unless the locking member is pivoted as shown in FIG. 2 by a coin of acceptable size, in this case a genuine 25- cent piece. The coin engages a screw 18 threaded through a tapped lateral bore in an arm 19 which is an integral part of the member 13 which extends through an aperture 20 in the plate 2 to bridge the space between the plates. The tapped bore, of course, is located in that part of the arm between the plates.

It will be appreciated that a coin or slug of smaller than acceptable size may rock the cradle to a limited extent but not fully to the coin discharge position since it does not have sufficient diameter to displace screw I8 and the pin 16 will, therefore, not be able to pass the shoulder 17. The genuine coin, on the other hand, pivots the member 13 and moves the shoulder 17 out of the path of the pin 16 until the latter has passed the former and the cradle is then free to rock fully to the discharge position in which the center of gravity of the coin has passed to the right of cradle arm 9 and the latter is substantially aligned with runway 12.

The sorter also has a screw 21 threaded through a tapped lateral bore in a forwardly extending flange 22 on plate 2, this screw serving to limit clockwise movement of the arm 19 so that a coin or slug of greater than acceptable size will become locked between the screw 18 and cradle arm 8 and full rocking of the cradle to discharge position is again prevented. By screwing the screws 18 and 21 in and out, of course, extremely fine adjustment of the acceptability range is possible. Thus, for example, the sorter is capable of accepting one of a Canadian and an American 25-cent piece and rejecting the other, should the owner of a vending machine so desire.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. In a coin sorter having a cradle with two arms adapted to be rocked from a normal position by a coin of predetermined acceptable size to deposit said coin on an inclined runway, coins and slugs of smaller size normally being allowed to pass between the arms without rocking the cradle, the improvement comprising locking means mounted in the sorter adjacent the cradle, and biassed toward a normal locking position in which a part of the cradle engages a first part of said locking means and is held thereby against further movement when a coin or slug of smaller than acceptable size starts to rock the cradle, said locking means having a second part adapted to be engaged and displaced by a coin of acceptable size as the latter rocks the cradle, displacement of said second part effecting displacement of said first part also, whereby said cradle part will not engage said first part and full rocking of the cradle is permitted, the relative position of said first and second parts of the locking means being finely adjustable to enable fine selection of the minimum size of coin required to fully rock the cradle, said cradle being pivotally mounted on the outer face of one of a pair of spaced plates between which coins fall, the arms of the cradle extending through slot means "in said one plate to bridge the space between the plates, and said locking means comprising a member pivotally mounted on the outer face of said one plate and having a lower portion below the pivot and an upper portion above the pivot, said lower portion having a shoulder constituting said first part of the locking means, said part of the cradle being in the form of an outwardly extending pin, said upper portion having an arm extending inwardly through a slot in said one plate to bridge the space between the plates and a screw extending laterally through a tapped bore in said arm, said screw constituting said second part of the locking means.

2. A coin sorter as claimed in claim 1, including a stop member mounted in the coin sorter adjacent said second part of the locking means and adapted to limit displacement of said second part, said stop member being finely adjustable to enable fine selection of the maximum size of coin capable of fully rocking the cradle, a coin or slug of greater size being locked between an arm of the cradle and said second part at the limit of its displacement and prevented from following the acceptable coin path.

3. A coin sorter as claimed in claim 1, wherein said one plate has a forwardly extending flange with a tapped transverse bore therein, a screw being adjustably mounted in said bore and adapted to engage said arm with a coin or slug of greater than acceptable size is received in the sorter. 

1. In a coin sorter having a cradle with two arms adapted to be rocked from a normal position by a coin of predetermined acceptable size to Deposit said coin on an inclined runway, coins and slugs of smaller size normally being allowed to pass between the arms without rocking the cradle, the improvement comprising locking means mounted in the sorter adjacent the cradle, and biassed toward a normal locking position in which a part of the cradle engages a first part of said locking means and is held thereby against further movement when a coin or slug of smaller than acceptable size starts to rock the cradle, said locking means having a second part adapted to be engaged and displaced by a coin of acceptable size as the latter rocks the cradle, displacement of said second part effecting displacement of said first part also, whereby said cradle part will not engage said first part and full rocking of the cradle is permitted, the relative position of said first and second parts of the locking means being finely adjustable to enable fine selection of the minimum size of coin required to fully rock the cradle, said cradle being pivotally mounted on the outer face of one of a pair of spaced plates between which coins fall, the arms of the cradle extending through slot means in said one plate to bridge the space between the plates, and said locking means comprising a member pivotally mounted on the outer face of said one plate and having a lower portion below the pivot and an upper portion above the pivot, said lower portion having a shoulder constituting said first part of the locking means, said part of the cradle being in the form of an outwardly extending pin, said upper portion having an arm extending inwardly through a slot in said one plate to bridge the space between the plates and a screw extending laterally through a tapped bore in said arm, said screw constituting said second part of the locking means.
 2. A coin sorter as claimed in claim 1, including a stop member mounted in the coin sorter adjacent said second part of the locking means and adapted to limit displacement of said second part, said stop member being finely adjustable to enable fine selection of the maximum size of coin capable of fully rocking the cradle, a coin or slug of greater size being locked between an arm of the cradle and said second part at the limit of its displacement and prevented from following the acceptable coin path.
 3. A coin sorter as claimed in claim 1, wherein said one plate has a forwardly extending flange with a tapped transverse bore therein, a screw being adjustably mounted in said bore and adapted to engage said arm with a coin or slug of greater than acceptable size is received in the sorter. 